Projects conducted in the department under this option develop fundamental knowledge of biorefinery processes for application in the production of a wide spectrum of industrial products and fuels from bioresources, primarily lignocellulosics. Research is also supported by various U.S. federal and N.Y. state governmental agencies, sometimes in conjunction with private industrial partners.

The BPE option in the Paper and Bioprocess Engineering program offers areas of study in:

Areas of Study

Biocatalysis and Bioreaction Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.)

Reaction mechanisms and kinetics

Catalytic and activation effects

Enzyme Chemistry, Engineering

Fermentation Engineering

Engineering of Bioreactors

Biocatalysis is the study of biological and chemical processes involving biocatalysts, enzymes and proteins. This area of study prepares students for traditional “upstream” operations: principles of design and operation of bioreactors and fermenters. Chemical and biological processes often involve reactions at the interfaces of liquid and solid, and are frequently diffusion limited. Understanding of surface activities as well as effective modeling of the process kinetics enables the engineer to design processes with optimal yield, rate of reaction using appropriately sized equipment. These form the core of most bioprocesses in the industry. Pilot plant facilities in these areas are also available.

Bioseparations is the study of separation of valuable products from the output of bioreactors using the wide spectrum of unit operations. Traditional “downstream” operations include membrane and chromatography processes. This area encompasses study of unit operations, separations, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, colloid and surface science and process engineering. There is extensive research effort and focus in this area. Current projects include membrane separations, adsorption, filtration, centrifugation, and novel separations based on functional materials. Pilot plant facilities in these areas are also available.

Bioprocess Design, Simulation and Control (M.S., Ph.D.)

Process design

Process simulation, dynamics, control

Batch process scheduling

This area of study involves the design, simulation and control of batch and continuous processes. Coursework is concentrated in process simulation, process analysis and dynamics and control. This is supplemented by studies in downstream and upstream processing. The dynamic operation and scheduling of batch plants is an important aspect of bioprocesses. Process economics are an important adjunct to the modeling of manufacturing processes. Pilot plant facilities in these areas are also available.

Bioenvironmental Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.)

Anaerobic and aerobic bioreactors

Sludge and wastewater treatments

Bacterial and enzymatic processes in environmental remediation

Bioenvironmental engineering links research with environmental and bioresource stewardship. Research here includes process dynamics and control, characterization and treatment of waste streams from bioprocesses, byproduct recovery, and computer simulation of environmental processing systems. The extensive laboratories and pilot plant in Walters Hall are strongly supported by computing facilities and expertise on campus. Pilot plant facilities in these areas are also available.

Renewable Energy & Biofuels (M.S., Ph.D.)

Energy from biomass and other renewable sources

Bioseparations of lignocellulosic materials into useful components

Bioprocessing of renewable materials

Creation of new bioproducts using ecologically sustainable processes

This area of study encompasses both the use of renewable and sustainable resources (e.g., wood) for the production of chemicals, advanced materials, fuel, and energy, as well as the use of bioprocessing technology to produce such products. Such bioproducts extend to the production of energy from renewable resources including the use of gasification, co-firing of byproducts, anerobic digestion, solar, and the production of ethanol. Courses include chemical engineering, advanced chemistry, biotechnology, and bioengineering, building on a strong base of mathematics, chemistry, and biology. Current research projects in this area include the bioseparation of xylan from hardwoods, the production of ethanol and acetic acid from wood hemicelluloses, development of separation processes for various bioproducts, gasification, enzymatic processing of lignocellulosic materials, and chemical production from sustainable resources as a replacement for non-renewable fossil fuels. Pilot plant facilities in these areas are also available. Many research projects in this area have extensive connections to industrial organizations.

Biopharmaceuticals (M.S., Ph.D.)

Upstream processing, bioreactors

Downstream processing

Biopharmaceuticals are typically biologically active proteins produced by using recombinant bacterial and mammalian cells. Bioprocesses to produce biopharmaceuticals typically utilize microbial and mammalian cell culture fermentation processes, tangential flow filtration, centrifugation and a variety of chromatographic separations. Principles of microbiology, fermentation technology, reaction kinetics, separation science, as well as statistical process control are used to develop highly reproducible processes that can produce consistent products necessary to meet GMP (good manufacturing practice) production requirements.

Industrial Biological Processes (M.S., Ph.D.)

Biological processes in food and beverage manufacturing

Industrial fermentation processes

Biological processes have been used for centuries to produce wine, beer and fermented foods. As processes and manufacturing efficiencies have improved, products such as antibiotics, vitamins, enzymes, specialty chemicals and even commodity chemicals have and are being produced using bioprocesses. Bioprocesses for these applications typically employ microbial fermentation processes, filtration or centrifugation, precipitation and/or crystallization and drying. Principles of microbiology, fermentation technology, reaction kinetics, separation science and process economics are typically required to develop large cost efficient manufacturing processes.

Bioprocess Engineering (M.P.S.)

Energy from biomass and other renewable sources

Bioseparations of lignocellulosic materials into useful components

Bioprocessing of renewable materials

Creation of new bioproducts using ecologically sustainable processes

This area of study encompasses both the use of renewable and sustainable resources (e.g., wood) for the production of chemicals, advanced materials, fuel, and energy, as well as the use of bioprocessing technology to produce such products. Such bioproducts extend to the production of energy from renewable resources including the use of gasification, co-firing of byproducts, anerobic digestion, solar, and the production of ethanol. Courses include chemical engineering, advanced chemistry, biotechnology, and bioengineering, building on a strong base of mathematics, chemistry, and biology. Current research projects in this area include the bioseparation of xylan from hardwoods, the production of ethanol and acetic acid from wood hemicelluloses, development of separation processes for various bioproducts, gasification, enzymatic processing of lignocellulosic materials, and chemical production from sustainable resources as a replacement for non-renewable fossil fuels.

Graduate Students in Bioprocess Engineering

Current Students

Only currently registered students appearnew student names are added at the start of the academic year.

Graduate Research TopicMy work aims to improve enzymatic production of cellulases by to optimizing the fermentation conditions and substrate utilization for a given microorganism. This study uses wood extract produced during hot-water pretreatment as substrate to stimulate the enzymes yield. An increment in enzyme production would be a step in the right direction in the efforts to reduce the enzymatic cost and could help the biobased industry become more competitive.

Elevator SpeechI am currently studying paper and bioprocess engineering and sustainable engineering management and will be graduating in Spring 2016. Although my training is primarily in paper, chemical, and energy engineering, I have diverse learning interests because I am driven to discover the bigger picture behind our environmental problems.
Additionally, I have been training in soft skills development through various communication seminars and reading books by Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie, to name a few. Aside from science and engineering, I enjoy music composition, playing various instruments at local shows, sabre fencing, and outdoorsy activities.

Personal StatementI am a motivated, highly active, and enthusiastic person in all environments. I get true pleasure out of discovery and learning, and love to solve problems. I am driven to contribute to human progress towards greener and more sustainable means of meeting our growing energy and material needs. I also love music and dance.

Personal StatementI have always been fascinated by green technology. I truly believe that being a part of one of the best schools in the field of environmental sciences will give me an immense opportunity to delve into the exciting, new challenges that this ever-growing field presents to the avid researchers. It will always be my dream to contribute to this field by combining my pharmaceutical and bioprocessing knowledge to develop novel bio-products using green solutions. Apart from my research, I love reading and singing and Iím an occasional dabbler in astronomy and photography.

Favorite QuoteIn the final analysis, its between you and yourself; it was never between you and them anyway.

Research InterestsMy research interests include (but are not limited to): Biopharmaceuticals, Bioenergy, Biocatalysis, Lignocellulosics